CVPA News and Tips

AYSO National Office's Holiday HoursNational Office Hours
AYSO will close on Dec. 24 at 12:00 p.m., PT and will resume normal business hours on Monday, Jan. 4. Thank you and happy holidays!

Use Care When Personalizing GearWith Select, All Star and other Tournaments rapidly approaching, remember that Parent's Magazine and many child safety guidelines recommend that children/players not wear personalized shirts or jackets, or carry backpacks, etc. with their names. Though it may seem fun to have the names printed, it can help a stranger become familiar with a young player. Numbers or last names, if necessary, might be a better option than first names.

How to Be Prepared for Cold WeatherIt's important to be aware of the dangers of cold weather and be prepared to delay or cancel games if the weather conditions are poor enough.

Important Pennsylvania State Background Check InformationEffective July, 2015, Pennsylvania State Act 153 requires all volunteers in the state of Pennsylvania to submit the following background checks to their member organization every 36 months in order to volunteer to work with children:

5 Tips to be an AYSO ChaperoneWhen chaperoning, the minimum requirement for the adult to youth ratio is one adult for a maximum of eight players, and two adults at all times with at least one being of the same gender as the team members.

Red Flag WarningsIf you come across a red flagged volunteer in eAYSO, it doesn't mean that volunteer is a bad person. It simply means that the application is on hold. A red flag can be a prompt that there is a question or something is missing on the application form or that an applicant cannot be approved at this time.

Turn in Your AYSO Incident Report FormsThe AYSO Incident Report Form is used whenever there is a personal injury, damaged property or threats of actual physical violence surrounding an AYSO game, practice, event or property.

Tips For Safely Using a Golf CartGolf carts or Utility Task Vehicle (UTV's) are becoming a large part of Regional activities. The vehicles provide necessary assistance to volunteers while they perform a multitude of tasks. However the safe use and storage of these vehicles should be primary for any Region operating them.

Tips For Safely Using a Golf CartGolf carts or Utility Task Vehicle (UTV's) are becoming a large part of Regional activities. The vehicles provide necessary assistance to volunteers while they perform a multitude of tasks. However the safe use and storage of these vehicles should be primary for any Region operating them.

Divorced Parents and Privacy RightsTo protect the privacy of AYSO families, it is our position to not disclose information to anyone other than the individuals listed on the Player Registration Form.

Have a Safe Haven SeasonIt's that make it or break it time of year, where everything is coming to a head all at once. Do we have enough coaches, assistant coaches and referees? Is everyone registered and background checked? Trained and certified?

Red Flag WarningsIf you see a little red flag when you check your volunteers on eAYSO, don't panic.

Make Sure Volunteers eSign for the Fall SeasonThe start of the fall season is approaching rapidly. Since July is when a lot of Regions are forming their teams and selecting coaches, it's important to follow these four steps when processing volunteer applications.

Symptoms of Heat ExhaustionHeat exhaustion is a heat-related syndrome, which ranges in severity from mild heat cramps to heat exhaustion to potentially life-threatening heatstroke.

Have You Secured Your Field Permits?Have you secured field use permits for your practice and game fields, Opening Day festivities, training sessions and other events for the upcoming membership year? Now is the time!

Three Things Every CVPA Should Know1. The Volunteer Registration screen in eAYSO now includes two new columns, one designating if you are a New or Returning Volunteer, and a "Yes" or "No" eSigned indicator column.

eSign Volunteer Registration RequirementOn Jan. 1, the volunteer eSign registration policy went into effect. After the beginning of the year, eSign must be used for volunteer registration whenever possible. The goal is to have every volunteer sign up in eAYSO using eSign.

To Text or Not to TextUsing the text messaging function on your cell phone can be a handy and quick way to communicate with others. In growing numbers, volunteers are using texting as a way of getting information to their fellow volunteers (such as a head coach texting an assistant coach or team parent with a question) and even to their players.

Volunteer Registration HelpAs a CVPA, you're currently very involved with registering your volunteers, assigning them to positions and helping your Regional Commissioner and Coach and Referee Administrators ensure that everyone is trained and certified.

CVPA StoriesJerry, a Region CVPA, is employed by the police department. He learns that Sally, one of his Region's volunteer coaches, was just brought in to the police station and charged with a crime. Jerry knows that Sally is currently coaching a girls U-10 team.

Supervision on the FieldsThe CVPA is the go-to-person in the Region for anything that has to do with child protection. CVPAs contact us often with questions regarding the supervision ratio, especially when it comes to escorting children to the bathrooms and what to do about children who are left alone on the field after practice is over.

I'm a New CVPA: What Should I Do?In the last few days, we've received more than a few phone calls with this same question. First, thank you very much for accepting the position of CVPA.

AYSO Attends Safe to Compete SummitThe summit was also attended by Pop Warner Football, Little League Baseball, U.S. Lacrosse, U.S. Swimming, U.S. Gymnastics and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America with the goal of evaluating current policies and practices for safe guarding children in youth sports.

View All Volunteer Certifications in eAYSOThis new eAYSO feature pulls all certifications regardless of the course hierarchy - meaning that you will now be able to view all certifications of volunteers, rather than just the highest or most advanced.

Safe Haven to Debut Certification PatchIn order to provide greater visibility to the importance of being trained and certified and to recognize volunteers who have taken the time and effort to achieve this status, Safe Haven is piloting a new "Trained and Certified" patch.

Dealing With Restraining OrdersPlease be advised that AYSO is not required to enforce restraining orders. If presented with one, inform the individual that it is up to them to call the appropriate authorities if the object of the restraining order is in violation.

The Threat is All Too RealSometimes our job as CVPAs can be a bit tedious - sorting through volunteer applications, entering information on eAYSO, etc. Our job, however, is not about paperwork; it is about protecting children.

Are You Properly Trained and Certified?In order to be trained and certified as a CVPA, you must have completed Child and Volunteer Protection Advocate Training, AYSO's Safe Haven and the most current CVPA Annual Update.